Improving statistical skills through students’ participation in the development of resources

This paper summarizes the evaluation of a project that involved undergraduate mathematics students in the development of teaching and learning resources for statistics modules taught in various departments of a university. This evaluation regards students’ participation in the project and its impact on their learning of statistics, as characterized in terms of statistical reasoning, statistical thinking, and skills for statistical consultancy. The participation of students is evaluated from the viewpoint of communities of practice. The evaluation resulted in a characterization of the benefits of such a project and suggestions for implementations of future projects, and in addition brought to light new theoretical elements both as regards the learning of statistics and as regards communities of practice. In particular, the analysis highlighted contributions of the students involved to resource development practice in the community of university statistics teachers, as well as contributions to students’ learning as a result of participation in this community

“No longer a divide between students and staff”: Learning through participation in statistics resource development

In this paper, we analyse the diaries of two intern mathematics undergraduate students who were involved in a project on statistics resource development. Our purpose is to use the theoretical perspective of communities of practice (Wenger, 1998) to investigate how internship functions as a learning environment for these students. The results indicate how the two students shaped their own practice within the internship by establishing a mutual engagement and a shared repertoire and by integrating the joint enterprise of the task to their own work. The overall social environment of the internship, consisting of other students and staff, shaped the practice of the two students and became a learning environment for them